1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to apparatus for improving human mobility on congealed precipitation, such as snow, and which can be used in conjunction with devices adapted to operate on congealed precipitation. More particularly, the present invention relates to apparatus used to assist cross country skiers by increasing traction in different snow conditions.
2. Description of Related Art
The history of winter sports, in particular skiing, dates back to the thirteenth century or perhaps earlier when skiing was not a past time or any type of sport, but was a necessary mode of transportation. Skiing takes its roots from the northern countries of Scandinavia where armies took advantage of skis to move across the frozen tundra of the north. In time, armies began holding races to memorialize certain historic ski trips made by previous armies or scouts. Soon the general public became fascinated with the ski movement and eventually became involved in the army ski races. Since those early times, winter sports have substantially increased in popularity.
In the United States particularly, winter sports have been ever increasing in popularity since the 1830's when Scandinavian immigrants introduced snow-skiing. Later in the late 1840's miners involved in the gold rush situated in Western North America began using skis as a mode of travel. Soon after, these miners began using their make-shift skis in spur of the moment downhill competitions during their spare time because of the thrill of the experience. Not long after, these impromptu races developed into formal ski events and races, where enthusiasts began developing skis and ski accessories into what they have become today, technologically advanced systems.
The enthusiasm for all winter sports has increased tremendously over the past thirty years with the advent of new technologies and material advancements. For instance, ski equipment has been improved by use of carbon fiber, GORTEX™, titanium, and KEVLAR™. Today, participation in skiing and other snow related sports has increased at a tremendous pace and the numbers of winter sports enthusiasts continues to climb at an increasing rate. Literally millions of people flock to ski resorts and the back country each winter to enjoy the thrill of winter sports.
Enthusiasm for winter sports continues to grow each winter season around the world as evidenced by the record number of athletes that participated in the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan. Seventy-two countries and two thousand one hundred seventy-seven athletes participated at the games in Nagano giving it the highest participation rate in Winter Olympic history. The popularity of winter sports is further evidenced by the number of events that will be included in the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. A total of seventy-eight events will be competed in by over seventy countries in the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.
In the context of cross country skiing, there is a great deal of interest in equipping skis and other snow-traveling devices with accessories that offer an adaptability to changing terrain conditions. It is common practice for certain types of skiers to travel over rough snow covered mountains and hills. In addition, it is common to experience a multitude of snow conditions, including steep slopes, ice covered mountains, and uneven terrain.
With the confrontation of changing terrain conditions, there are situations that demand the skier to equip his/her skis with additional accessories in order to assist the skier to navigate changing terrain conditions.
It is recognized in the industry, when climbing steep, icy slopes, that hiking with crampons, a climbing device connected to the soles of a climber's boots having a prong or several prongs which are used for sinking into an icy surface to gain traction, is a safe alternative to climbing with skis. However, hiking with crampons requires the removal of skis and replacement with crampons. Using crampons requires the skier to carry heavy, bulky accessories during the ski trip and also requires the skier to carry his/her skis up the slope when using crampons.
Even other alternative methods to climbing on skis, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,563 (granted Oct. 20, 1998 to Dubuque) for removable ski bindings that convert into crampons, are disadvantageous because the skis still must be carried up the snowy, icy slope by the skier. In certain skiing situations, it is an advantage to be able to quickly install and remove ski accessories in order to climb instead of removing the skis to climb a snow covered mountain. Without the aid of traction-providing accessories, the ability of a skier to effectively maneuver in hard, icy snow conditions is limited.
Other methods have been developed to aid the skier when climbing slippery inclines. In the past, certain sea mammals had been recognized as having the ability to slither up snow covered slopes and slide down the other side with great ease and efficiency. Strips of those mammals' hides were used to help cross country skiers duplicate the ease and efficiency of climbing up slopes while sliding down the other side. These hides or skins (hereinafter referred to as “climbing skins”) were attached to the underside of the skis where the climbing skin surface articulates with the snow or ice to permit skiers to climb up one side and then glide down the other side of a hill.
Today, climbing skins have been replaced with woven fabrics with a slant pile (hereinafter referred to as “climbing fabrics”). Climbing fabrics are typically treated with a latex or plastic sealant to keep them dry in wet snow conditions. These climbing fabrics are particularly useful for wilderness and cross country skiing in mountainous areas where slopes are too steep for effective use of waxes (a system of applying wax to the ski in order to increase the friction between the ski and the snowy surface by creating a temporary bond between the wax and the snow to aid in traction) and other climbing methods. However, climbing fabrics have traditionally been expensive to purchase and requires attachment of permanent accessories to connect the climbing skins to the skis.
Although different procedures and mechanisms have been developed to aid the snow traveler in extreme conditions, such procedures and mechanisms have proven to be too permanent, bulky and cumbersome especially when used in icy or snowy conditions where the traveler is carrying a heavy pack. For cross country skiing, in particular, it is important to have the ability to easily and quickly mount and remove ski accessories because of the dramatic changes which can take place in the weather and snow conditions experienced on cross country ski trips. Additionally, it is important to provide for small, light weight accessories that will easily fit within a small pack or pocket permitting the skier to carry all necessary equipment for multiple, unexpected terrain conditions.
Attempts have been made in the industry to provide alternatives for maneuvering through different snow conditions. However, none of the undertakings in the industry specifically considers the advantage of attaching and detaching a device in a quick, easy and efficient manner. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,220,631 (granted Apr. 24, 2001 to Pritchard et al.) discloses a stabilizing skeg structure that requires mounting the skeg structure onto the ski traveling device, such as a snowboard. This device is characterized by several disadvantages, including the process for mounting which requires permanently placing holes into the snowboard or other snow-traveling device. The Pritchard device is designed such that even when the device is removed, holes are exposed in the snow-traveling device which is not aesthetically desirable and changes the performance of the snow-traveling device and leaves the Pritchard device unadaptable to changing conditions, including climbing steep hills.
There are several other snow-traveling device accessories known in the industry, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,105,990 (granted Aug. 22, 2000 to Sutherland). This patent discloses a system for mounting climbing fabric to a ski which allows the climbing fabric to be put on and taken off. However, the Sutherland device is expensive to manufacture and costly for consumers. In addition, the climbing fabric is not disposable, adding to the cost of the end product because the fabric is required to be extremely durable in order to withstand the coarse conditions the fabric encounters. Because the fabric is meant to be used over and over, it is made of a material which is expensive to manufacture and sell.
It will be appreciated that the industry has not recognized the need for providing a disposable climbing fabric. Significantly, previously available climbing fabrics are unable to withstand the coarse conditions encountered during use. In the past, disposable climbing fabrics were not available which could both achieve the features of a traditional climbing fabric and be produced in a cost effective manner.
Another snow-traveling device accessory known in the industry, which is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,927,896 (granted Dec. 23, 1975 to Detoia), provides a ski and snow shoe device with retractable cleats, which allows the ski to be treated interchangeably as a ski or snow shoe device. However, the Detoia device is a permanent fixture of the ski, and the Detoia device must be fitted to a specifically prepared ski with open slots, which damages the ski during installation and such damage is exposed when the device is removed. In addition, the Detoia ski and snow shoe device undesirably increases the weight of the ski.
Yet another snow-traveling device accessory known in the industry, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,563 (granted on Oct. 20, 1998 to Dubuque), provides a binding with a harness and attachment assembly that incorporates a crampon that can be removed from the ski to be used selectively as a crampon in order to simplify the shift between ski and crampon. However, the crampon is connected to a binding and use of the Dubuque device assumes that there are times when individuals would not use skis to climb, but instead, for safety reasons, prefer to use a separate crampon system for climbing separated from their skis. The Dubuque device does not anticipate instances where the cross country skier would prefer to climb slopes without removing his/her skis. Rather, the Dubuque device requires ski removal and the consequent carrying of the skis up the mountain by the skier, which is a severe disadvantage to the skier.
As mentioned above, significant disadvantages are present in the industry. For instance, the inability to quickly and easily remove equipment is a limiting factor during ski trips. Another disadvantage unrecognized in the industry is the bulky size of the existing components which must be carried during ski trips and used in place of skis in order to climb hills, slopes and other inclines. The inability of the previously existing devices to be removed from the ski because of being permanently attached, is yet another disadvantage of the accessories known in the industry. In addition, the accessories in the available art have traditionally been expensive to manufacture.
Therefore, there has been a long unrecognized need in the industry for small, light weight, quickly assembled, and portable accessories for snow-traveling devices which are inexpensive to make, and simple in operation. In view of the drawbacks inherent in the available art, it would be a significant advance in the art to provide small and lightweight ski accessories to improve human mobility on snow surfaces that can be easily mounted and removed by the skier.